On Thin Ice

Fourth Skate

The next week passed quickly. Kageyama sat behind the counter day after day, watching Hinata skate. He'd asked Yuka multiple questions about him and had received most of the information he wanted. He was eighteen and had only started skating the previous year, and while he competed, he could never make it past Nationals to qualify for the Grand Prix. His coach was a long-time skating enthusiastic, Ukai, who was known to suffer from multiple health problems. He was currently in the hospital after having a stroke, leaving Hinata with no coach while he recovered.

What bothered Kageyama so much was the fact that the boy wouldn't take another coach, even a temporary one. Was he stupid? Did he not care about his career? It was foolish of him to refuse help, especially when things weren't looking good for Ukai. The man was getting old anyway: he probably wouldn't be able to coach for much longer. What did Hinata plan on doing then?

He had so much potential if he would just get serious.

"You're scowling again," Yuka said in his ear, startling Kageyama so much he jumped, whacking his elbow against the counter and nearly falling off his stool. He whipped around, glaring at her accusingly, rubbing the sore spot and muttering curses under his breath. "Would you quit sneaking up on me like that?! And I'm not scowling!"

Yuka giggled, setting down the box of blade guards she was holding. "Sure you're not. Anyway, I'm not paying you to sit here and stare at Hinata all day. Why don't you go work concessions for a while?"

"I wasn't staring!" Kageyama said defensively, pushing away from the counter to distance himself from her. She shot him an incredulous look, grabbing an apron and pressing it to his chest, shoving him away. "Sure you weren't. Now put this on and get to work, you freeloader."

Kageyama shot her the finger over his shoulder as he walked towards the concession stand, earning a snicker as he pulled on the ugly blue apron, muttering under his breath as he double-knotted it behind his back. "Stupid Yuka. 'I don't pay you to stare'. I wasn't staring!" Letting himself behind the counter, he slumped against it and stared out at the rink irritably. He relaxed a little as he watched the skaters on the ice. Hinata was still there.

They were busier than usual, about a dozen or more people out on the ice, so he was doing laps around the edges, still as fast as he had been the first time Kageyama saw him. His speed was amazing, and the few jumps he had managed to complete successfully had amazing height and power. The only person Kageyama had ever seen with that kind of speed and ability had been a skater they called 'The Little Giant'. Kageyama himself had never had to go against him in competition—luckily it was before his time—but he'd watched him multiple times and he had gone undefeated throughout most of his career.

Now that he looked at him more closely, Hinata looked a lot like The Little Giant. In fact, they were nearly identical save for their different hair and eye colors. And not only their skating style, but also their stature and mannerisms seemed almost exactly the same.

Interesting.

Now Kageyama knew for sure that this kid was something special.

❄ ❄ ❄ 

Around noon, Kageyama went on break and jogged over to the convenience store to bring back lunch. When he got back to the rink about thirty minutes later, a lot of the morning crowd had left, leaving only a few people on the ice. His attention was drawn to the players' bench where Hinata was sitting, talking on the phone. He looked concerned, brows drawn together, biting his lip anxiously.

As he passed, Kageyama tilted his head discreetly, catching a snippet of conversation. "I don't understand what you're saying... Well, yes, I know that, but—" The rest of the words were unintelligible as he wandered too far away, but as he neared the skate counter, Hinata sprang to his feet with a loud exclamation, drawing a few startled gazes from other onlookers.